What file formats does the Email Parser API support?

The Email Parser API supports both raw email text and standard .eml files, which are the universal format for storing email messages. You can upload an .eml file directly via the /v1/email/upload endpoint or send raw email content as a JSON string to the /v1/email/text endpoint. The API automatically detects the input format and applies the appropriate parsing strategy. For .eml files, the parser handles the full MIME structure including multipart boundaries, encoded headers, and nested content. For raw text input, it parses RFC 5322-compliant email format with headers separated from the body by a blank line. Both methods return identical structured JSON output.

What information can be extracted from an email?

The API extracts over 30 data fields from each email message. This includes all addressing headers (From, To, Cc, Bcc) with separated display names and email addresses, the Subject line decoded from any encoding, and the Date parsed into ISO-8601 format. Message content is extracted in both HTML and plain text versions. Attachments are catalogued with filename, MIME content type, size, and base64-encoded content. Routing metadata includes Message-ID, In-Reply-To, and References headers for threading, plus Received headers showing the email's server path. Priority flags, Return-Path, and all raw headers are also included in the structured JSON response.

How does the API handle email attachments?

The API automatically detects and processes all email attachments during parsing. For each attachment, the response includes the original filename, MIME content type (such as application/pdf or image/jpeg), file size in bytes, and the attachment content encoded in base64 format. You can decode the base64 string to reconstruct the original file in your application. The API distinguishes between regular attachments that users explicitly added and inline attachments like embedded images referenced in HTML content. It handles all standard file types including documents, images, archives, and spreadsheets. For emails with multiple attachments, each is returned as a separate object in the attachments array.

Does the API support different character encodings?

Yes, the API provides comprehensive character encoding support for parsing international emails. It handles UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO-8859 family encodings for European languages, Windows-1251 for Cyrillic, Windows-1256 for Arabic, Shift_JIS and ISO-2022-JP for Japanese, GB2312 and GBK for Chinese, EUC-KR for Korean, and many other regional encodings. The parser automatically detects the encoding specified in the Content-Type charset header and applies the correct decoder. When no encoding is specified, it uses heuristic detection based on byte patterns. All output is normalized to UTF-8 for consistent processing. Content-Transfer-Encoding methods like quoted-printable and base64 are fully supported as well.

Can the API handle complex email structures?

Yes, the Email Parser API is built to handle complex and deeply nested email structures that challenge simpler parsers. It correctly processes multipart/mixed messages with attachments, multipart/alternative messages with both text and HTML versions, and multipart/related messages with inline images. The parser handles forwarded messages containing embedded original emails, email chains with quoted content, and messages with multiple levels of MIME nesting. It identifies MIME boundary markers, recursively processes each section according to its content type, and maintains the hierarchical relationships between parts. This makes it reliable for processing business correspondence, automated notification emails, and complex marketing messages.

How fast is the email parsing and what are the size limits?

The Email Parser API processes most standard emails in under 2 seconds, with simple text-only messages completing in under 500 milliseconds. Processing time scales with email complexity and attachment size. Emails with large attachments or deeply nested MIME structures may take slightly longer. The API accepts emails up to 10MB in total size, which accommodates the vast majority of business emails. For optimal performance with high-volume processing, we recommend implementing asynchronous workflows using job queues and processing emails in parallel batches. The API supports concurrent requests across all paid plans, allowing you to scale throughput by increasing parallelism rather than waiting for sequential responses.

AI-powered email processing and data extraction

Email Parser API

Transform unstructured email data into actionable insights with our AI-powered Email Parser API. Extract key information, analyze content, and automate email processing workflows with ease.

Our Email Parser API is a robust solution that processes email content to extract structured data, including sender and recipient details, subject lines, message bodies, attachments, and metadata with enterprise-grade reliability.

Get a free API key Read the docs

Free tier included, no credit card required. One key works across every API.

Free calls / month: 40
Processing Speed: <2s
Data Fields: 30+
File Formats: 10+

Get your free API key

40 free calls on the free plan

Key features

Automate email processing and data extraction at scale
Extract structured data from email headers and content
Process email attachments including PDFs and documents
Multi-encoding support for international emails
Advanced metadata extraction and analysis
Integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows and applications

Built for

Customer support ticket automation
Email marketing analytics
Legal document processing
CRM data synchronization
Compliance and audit workflows
Business intelligence dashboards
Invoice and receipt processing
Lead generation and qualification

MCP · for your agent

Hand the Email Parser API to your agent

Connect Claude, Cursor or any MCP client once, then ask in plain words. Your agent finds this API, reads its docs and makes the call: 25 credits per call, the same as REST, from your team's balance.

Connect your agent

Turn a customer email into a ticket

“Parse this forwarded customer email into a ticket: sender, date, order number and language, so it reaches the right queue.”

list_apis · get_api_docsfree

api_request POST /email-parser/v1/email/text 25 cr

+ Language Detection API1 cr

Sender, date, subject, clean body, order number and detected language, ready to file.

Untangle an email thread

“This raw email went back and forth between three teams. Show me its message ID, what it replies to and every recipient.”

list_apis · get_api_docsfree

api_request POST /email-parser/v1/email/text 25 cr

Message-ID, In-Reply-To and References headers plus every To and Cc address.

Pull invoice data from vendor emails

“A supplier sends invoices as plain-text emails. Parse this one, then pull the invoice number, total and due date.”

list_apis · get_api_docsfree

api_request POST /email-parser/v1/email/text 25 cr

+ Invoice Parser API25 cr

Sender and date from the email, plus invoice number, total and due date from its body.

$ claude mcp add --transport http apicodex https://mcp.apicodex.io

Illustrative asks; the calls and prices are real. Claude, Cursor, VS Code and Windsurf setup: mcp.apicodex.io

Try it

Build the request for your data

Edit the parameters below and see the exact request and curl command you'd send. No key required to preview.

POST /email-parser/v1/email/text

Open in Playground

Request · HTTP

POST /email-parser/v1/email/text HTTP/1.1
Host: api.apicodex.io
Content-Type: application/json
X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

{
"email": "From: [email protected]\nTo: [email protected]\nSubject: Test Email\n\nHello, this is a test email."
}

Response · JSON 200 OK

{
"subject": "Test Email for Email Parser API",
"from": [
  {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"to": [
  {
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"cc": [
  {
    "name": "CC User",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"bcc": [
  {
    "name": "BCC User",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"date": "2025-05-12T09:00:00.000Z",
"message_id": "<[email protected]>",
"in_reply_to": "<[email protected]>",
"references": "<[email protected]>",
"priority": null,
"attachments": [
  {
    "filename": "test-document.pdf",
    "contentType": "application/pdf",
    "content": "%PDF-1.3\n...",
    "size": 430
  }
],
"html": "<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n...",
"text": "Hello,\n\nThis is a test email...",
"headers": {
  "return-path": [
    {
      "value": [
        {
          "address": "[email protected]",
          "name": ""
        }
      ],
      "initial": "<[email protected]>"
    }
  ],
  "delivered-to": [
    {
      "value": [
        {
          "address": "[email protected]",
          "name": ""
        }
      ],
      "initial": "[email protected]"
    }
  ]
}
}

Run it with your key

Documentation

Email Parser API Documentation

The Email Parser API provides comprehensive parsing and extraction of email data. This documentation outlines how to effectively integrate and utilize the API for processing email content, extracting attachments, and analyzing message structures.

Base URL

url

https://api.apicodex.io/email-parser

Authentication

Authenticate every request with your API key: send it in an X-Api-Key header, or pass it as an ?apikey= query parameter.

headers

{
"X-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Request and response

Illustrative values. Confirm current endpoint behavior, quotas, and data freshness in the API documentation before production use.

request · http

POST /email-parser/v1/email/text HTTP/1.1
Host: api.apicodex.io
Content-Type: application/json
X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

{
"email": "From: [email protected]\nTo: [email protected]\nSubject: Test Email\n\nHello, this is a test email."
}

response · json

{
"subject": "Test Email for Email Parser API",
"from": [
  {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"to": [
  {
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"cc": [
  {
    "name": "CC User",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"bcc": [
  {
    "name": "BCC User",
    "address": "[email protected]"
  }
],
"date": "2025-05-12T09:00:00.000Z",
"message_id": "<[email protected]>",
"in_reply_to": "<[email protected]>",
"references": "<[email protected]>",
"priority": null,
"attachments": [
  {
    "filename": "test-document.pdf",
    "contentType": "application/pdf",
    "content": "%PDF-1.3\n...",
    "size": 430
  }
],
"html": "<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n...",
"text": "Hello,\n\nThis is a test email...",
"headers": {
  "return-path": [
    {
      "value": [
        {
          "address": "[email protected]",
          "name": ""
        }
      ],
      "initial": "<[email protected]>"
    }
  ],
  "delivered-to": [
    {
      "value": [
        {
          "address": "[email protected]",
          "name": ""
        }
      ],
      "initial": "[email protected]"
    }
  ]
}
}

Code examples

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apicodex.io/email-parser/v1/email/upload" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "[email protected]"

JavaScript

const axios = require('axios');

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  url: 'https://api.apicodex.io/email-parser/v1/email/text',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
  },
  data: {
    email: "From: [email protected]\nTo: [email protected]\nSubject: Test Email\n\nHello, this is a test email."
  }
};

try {
  const response = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(response.data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

Python

import requests

url = "https://api.apicodex.io/email-parser/v1/email/text"

payload = {
    "email": "From: [email protected]\nTo: [email protected]\nSubject: Test Email\n\nHello, this is a test email."
}
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "X-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

print(response.json())

Endpoints

POST /v1/email/upload

Upload an .eml file to parse and extract information.

curl -X POST "https://api.apicodex.io/email-parser/v1/email/upload" -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" -F "[email protected]"

POST /v1/email/text

Send raw email content to parse and extract information.

curl -X POST "https://api.apicodex.io/email-parser/v1/email/text" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" -d '{"email": "From: [email protected]..."}'

Pricing

Email Parser API Pricing

This API costs 25 credits per request. Credits are shared across every API on your plan.

Estimate your monthly cost

Drag the slider to match your expected request volume. We'll recommend the cheapest plan that covers it.

Requests per month 10,000

Recommended plan

Starter

$29.99 /month

Credits used

Credits included

Cost per 1K requests

Choose Starter

Free

1,000 credits · ~40 requests/mo · 2 rps

All APIs included
No credit card required
Full documentation and examples
MCP server for your AI agents
Up to 5 active API keys

Start for free

Starter

Popular

$29.99 /month

50,000 credits · ~2,000 requests/mo · 10 rps

All APIs included
Email support
Usage dashboard and analytics
MCP server for your AI agents
Up to 5 active API keys

Start with Starter

Pro

$99.99 /month

250,000 credits · ~10,000 requests/mo · 25 rps

All APIs included
Priority support
MCP server for your AI agents
Up to 5 active API keys

Start with Pro

FAQ

Email Parser API

Key features

Built for

Hand the Email Parser API to your agent

Turn a customer email into a ticket

Untangle an email thread

Pull invoice data from vendor emails

Build the request for your data

Email Parser API Documentation

Base URL

Authentication

Request and response

Code examples

Endpoints

POST /v1/email/upload

POST /v1/email/text

Email Parser API Pricing

Free

Starter

Pro

Need a different plan?

Frequently asked questions

Related APIs